Many surgical procedures are performed while the patient is anesthetized. While under the influence of the anesthesia, the surgical patient oftentimes will incur damage to their teeth. Typically, the damage is done while the patient is going under or waking up. During surgery, the patient is oftentimes given muscle relaxers which reduces hard biting and grinding reducing the risk of tooth damage during this portion of the surgical procedure. Teeth can break from hard biting or damage can be due to grinding of the teeth which can produce chipped teeth and even broken teeth. Additionally, during some surgical procedures, the anesthetized patient will have an endotracheal tube or an LMA (laryngeal mask airway) inserted between the teeth and partially down the throat for providing air and/or other gases to the lungs. This tube can exacerbate surgical problems of the surgical patient by the patient biting down which can crimp the hose thereby limiting or preventing flow of gas therethrough possibly causing pulmonary edema, hypoxia, hypercabia or perhaps cause damage to the front teeth. As few as two missed breaths can injure the patient, including causing pulmonary edema. If teeth are damaged they need to be repaired which adds to the expense of the surgical procedure. It is not uncommon for the surgeon to pay for dental work rather than turn a claim over to their insurance carrier because of the potential increase in insurance premiums.
While devices are known for placing between a patient's teeth to prevent tooth damage, they have drawbacks. For example, mouth guards such as those worn by athletes need to be formed to shape prior to use. They are also placed between all of the teeth preventing access for a gas tube as is sometimes required for surgery. Further, such guards tend to be expensive and require effort by the hospital staff and patient to make ready to use. Other tooth guards are known and are made out of either plastic or other elastomeric material, therefore, for all practical purposes are non-porous and are also relatively thin in the area between the teeth. Because they are thin, the teeth are not spaced far enough apart to provide access for the gas tube. If such polymeric or plastic guards are made thicker, then the weight and expense likewise increase and are non porous or absorbent. Further, plastic or elastomeric guards, even though resilient, have little deformation under load and if the teeth are opened slightly, then there is no more tooth force on the guard to retain it in place between the teeth. Elastic and polymeric materials can, when deformed in one direction, apply relatively high resulting forces in other than the direction of compressive biting force which could cause unwanted lateral forces on the teeth. Elastomeric and polymeric protectors may also be cut by some teeth in use risking severing a portion that could injure the patient.
It is also recommended to monitor certain physiological aspects of a patient during surgery, e.g., the patient's temperature. Also, some patients will expectorate fluids, such as bile or stomach contents into the oral cavity potentially causing problems. Temperature sensors such as those carried by esophageal stethoscopes are used to monitor a patient's temperature by contacting the soft tissue in the oral cavity with the sensor which is connected to a monitor showing and/or recording the sensed temperature. Temperature monitoring is important to keep the patient from getting too cold or too hot.
There is thus a need for an improved surgical device to protect teeth and/or gums from damage during the surgical procedure.